


You're Not Alone, Peter

by Spideyfan62



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: A Scene That I Could See in Spider-Man 3, Awesome Michelle Jones, F/M, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Spider-Man: Far From Home, Post-Spider-Man: Far From Home Mid-Credits Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:48:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26240644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spideyfan62/pseuds/Spideyfan62
Summary: Peter's mind snapped back to reality as soon as M.J. looked up, her eyes making contact with his. For a moment, he contemplated exiting the building out of one of the windows, but he knew she would only keep looking for him. She was stubborn, which was one of the many reasons behind the feelings he had developed for her. He decided the best thing to do was to talk to her and try and explain himself. He knew the odds of convincing her to just turn around and go home were slim to none, but he had to try. He leapt down from the rafters, landing about five feet in front of her. His feet hadn't even been on the ground for even a couple seconds when he suddenly felt her arms around him, clutching tightly as if she never intended to let go. Against his better judgment, Peter hugged her back, allowing himself just a moment to soak up her embrace. M.J. said nothing, but Peter could tell by how hard she trembled as she held him that she had been worried to death about him, likely even more so than in London, and a wave of guilt washed over him. He squeezed his eyes shut as he fought back more tears; the last thing he needed in his mind was to get emotional in front of her.
Relationships: Michelle Jones/Peter Parker
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20
Collections: Spider-Man Public Identity Reveal





	You're Not Alone, Peter

**Author's Note:**

> Basically, a scene that I could picture happening in the sequel to Far From Home that I think would be a great one. Hope you all think so too!

Peter Parker slumped down against the wall of the old warehouse, his mind completely overrun and exhausted. Finally allowing the emotions to spill over for the first time since seeing the phrase "CITY WIDE MANHUNT FOR PETER PARKER," on the news less than an hour ago, tears streamed from his eyes, as if his face was a dam that had finally burst. Looking back, he honestly couldn't believe he had allowed himself to think it would all work out after Beck's video. At the time, it had actually seemed possible, but now...

Less than a day after the video was released, Pepper's army of lawyers had already found a great deal of evidence against the allegation that Peter had killed Quentin Beck. The man had apparently gone to great lengths to destroy any record of his time as an employee at Stark Industries, but something was eventually dug up and, combined with satellite surveillance and eyewitness accounts of the scene in London, and next thing he knew, he was being exonerated before an international grand jury. 

However, despite all of this, the damage was done in the eyes of a lot of the public. When Peter had started going back out on patrol in the city, he was greeted with mixed reception to say the least. While some people thanked him and said it was amazing that someone so young would dedicate themselves to helping people, others hurled insults at him, threw things at him, or even ran the other way. It was in moments like those that Beck's final words came to the forefront of Peter's mind.

"People...need to believe....and nowadays....they'll believe anything." 

No matter how much evidence had been turned up to the contrary, it seemed like at least half the city was still against him. 

None of this was even to mention school. It had taken a great deal of persuasion for the school board to allow Spider-Man back to finish his high school education there, and Peter couldn't walk anywhere on the grounds without getting flooded with questions of weird looks from everyone. M.J, and Ned had stuck close to him when they were all there, and the former had not hesitated to lash out at anyone who crossed a line in what they did or said. Honestly, his girlfriend's protective tendencies were really endearing to Peter, even if he felt guilty every time she was threatened with a suspension for her actions. 

Three months after the video, and things had just started to improve. Despite his spider-sense (thank goodness for Ned's naming of things for once), Peter still had always looked over his shoulder, but things were finally settling down in the city and at school, so he had allowed himself to relax just a little bit. Maybe all of his fears of how people perceived him, or for the safety of his loved ones, were all overblown. After all, the Avengers never had secret identities, and they had been just fine, so why should he be any different? 

That's when things snowballed. First, he was jumped out on patrol a couple of times by some guy in a jungle outfit with a Russian accent, saying he was here to "hunt" Spider-Man. While Peter was never seriously injured from their encounters, his concern for the safety of his loved ones flared up again. Then, to make matters worse, Peter saw the worst news he possibly could come across the television: footage of someone in a Spider-Man outfit robbing a bank and killing two of the security men there. 

As he had watched the footage, Peter's breath had stopped. For as bad as Beck's video had been, this was so, so much worse. 

May, M.J. and Ned had all been over that night, but he had been careful to make sure that none of them had seen him sneak out his bedroom window. He had left a note explaining his reasons for leaving; he also left his phone, both so he couldn't be tracked, but also so he could remove the temptation to check his messages while on the run. He knew it would hurt them all, but he felt it was the best way to protect them; plus, if they actually didn't know where he was going, they couldn't be considered accomplices in his "crimes." 

He had come across the old, abandoned warehouse that he was currently in, where he had told himself he would think of a plan, but none had come, and now he was just sitting there, letting out all of his emotions which had been building up since he left. Finally, he wiped the rest of the tears from his eyes; sitting here wasn't going to help him. He needed to think rationally, and he would need to make his moves carefully and precisely in order to expose whoever that impostor was on the television and once again clear his name. 

Peter changed things up by pacing up and down the walls, even walking along the ceiling, but none of it helped. All he kept coming back to was how ridiculous he felt for allowing himself to believe he could live a normal life with his identity out as public knowledge. He also didn't know what he would do if he did succeed in exposing the fake Spider-Man and stopping this Russian Tarzan that had taken an interest in him. He thought back to how stressed May had been since the video; sure, she had put on a brave face, but Peter could tell that she was struggling. M.J. and Ned had been loyal to him as well, but they would always be tied to him now, which would surely have numerous consequences. Was it fair of him to keep them in his life, knowing all of that? 

Peter was back on the floor, currently in the process of letting his thoughts get away from him yet again, when his enhanced hearing picked up what sounded like someone coming. His spider-sense hadn't gone off yet, but he wasn't taking any chances. He quickly made his way to the ceiling, crouching along one of the rafters. There was a bunch of junk scattered in various piles along the floor, which Peter was already planning how to use as he was already preparing numerous escape plans in his head. It could be the police, or maybe even one of multiple of the remnants of the Avengers, so Peter felt it best to be prepared. 

Instead, he watched in silence as M.J. emerged from around one of the piles of junk, her head practically on a swivel as she looked around the building. Peter's heart instantly tugged in his chest, and he wanted nothing more than to go down to her and pull her into a tight hug. He wanted to tell her he was sorry for everything; that she deserved so much better than him and his mess of a life. 

He wanted to tell her that she deserved the world. 

Peter's mind snapped back to reality as soon as M.J. looked up, her eyes making contact with his. For a moment, he contemplated exiting the building out of one of the windows, but he knew she would only keep looking for him. She was stubborn, which was one of the many reasons behind the feelings he had developed for her. He decided the best thing to do was to talk to her and try and explain himself. He knew the odds of convincing her to just turn around and go home were slim to none, but he had to try. He leapt down from the rafters, landing about five feet in front of her. His feet hadn't even been on the ground for even a couple seconds when he suddenly felt her arms around him, clutching tightly as if she never intended to let go. Against his better judgment, Peter hugged her back, allowing himself just a moment to soak up her embrace. M.J. said nothing, but Peter could tell by how hard she trembled as she held him that she had been worried to death about him, likely even more so than in London, and a wave of guilt washed over him. He squeezed his eyes shut as he fought back more tears; the last thing he needed in his mind was to get emotional in front of her. 

Finally they separated, and she spoke up first. 

"It's, um, it's good to see you." 

"It's good to see you too," Peter acknowledged, allowing a half smile to form on his face. "How'd you find me?" 

"Basically I've just been scouring every abandoned building in the city, figuring that kind of a place would be where you'd be hiding." 

"You could've been attacked or hurt, ya know?" Peter said. 

"Yeah, don't remind me," she replied, and he could tell by her still shaky body language that such a thought had undoubtedly crossed her mind.

"M.J, I'm not going back," Peter said, trying his best to be resolute but still polite with her. "At least, not yet." 

"I know," M.J. replied, as if this were common knowledge. Peter's face contorted to one of confusion.

"Then why did you come looking for me?" he asked. 

"Because," M.J, started off, and Peter could tell by how she was swaying back and forth a bit that she was nervous in her answer, like she would say the wrong thing. "I just...I thought you shouldn't be alone right now. I want to help, Peter." 

Peter turned around, running his hands over his face and hair as he took random steps in no particular direction. Of course M.J, who was literally the most fiercely loyal person in the world, would want to help in spite of every effort he had made to indicate he needed to do this on his own. 

"I appreciate that," Peter said as he suddenly spun back around to face her, "but this is something I have to do on my own." 

"Why?" she asked in more of her usual nonchalant tone of voice, shrugging. Did she HONESTLY have to ask that question? 

"You know why," Peter said. 

"I know why you think you do," M.J. said, stepping towards him. She seemed to be gaining a little more confidence as her tone grew slightly more serious and even authoritative. "But you're wrong." 

"M.J," Peter said as he wrung his hands together nervously, "I'm just trying to protect you."

"I know," she replied, and once again, there was no anger in her voice. Instead, there was something that tugged at Peter's heart even more: hurt. M.J. seemed to understand why he felt he had to do things this way, but that didn't mean that he hadn't hurt her in the process, and that thought destroyed him inside. 

"Please," Peter said, fighting back tears yet again as he worked up the courage to say the rest of the sentence. 

"Go home." 

"No," M.J. replied. 

"Please," he begged, his voice starting to break. 

"Protecting each other doesn't just go one way, Peter," she answered. "You...you remember what I said about not having much luck about getting close to people?"

"Yeah?" Peter said. 

"Well, you changed all of that," M.J. said. She hesitated, and Peter could see tears forming in her eyes. "You were the first person in my life who saw my weirdness and didn't either ignore it, tell me I should change it or just run the other way. You accepted me for who I was, and you mean the world to me for that. I know you think you have to do this on your own, but I'm not going to turn my back on the person who cares the most about me when they need me the most." 

Peter was at a loss for words. She wasn't exactly making it easy for him to explain to her why he needed to do this, largely because he knew that if the shoe was on the other foot, he would be saying many of the same words to her right now. If it were her on the run, wanted for crimes that she didn't commit, he wouldn't rest until he had found her. 

"Thank you so much for that," Peter said, allowing a light smile on his lips, "but the truth is that you deserve so much better than me, M.J." 

"Peter, I knew what I signed up for when I knew you were Spider-Man and still made the decision to date you," she replied. "I knew there would be risks." 

"It's not...it's about that too, but there's more too it than that," Peter replied. 

"What do you mean?" M.J. asked him. 

He hesitated in his response. He knew his answer, but he needed to say it in a way that perfectly conveyed the intent behind it. 

"It's okay," she said, taking a couple steps closer to him to the point where she was less than a foot away. "Talk to me." 

Figuring there was no better place to start, Peter decided to go back to the beginning. So he did, telling her everything about how he got his powers, how he felt so overwhelmed at having them at first, how a cashier at a store one night hadn't let him purchase what he wanted when he was literally just a penny short, and finally, the cost of his decision to not stop a man who robbed the store less than a minute later. 

"Ben had always tried to tell me that we always have a responsibility to do the right thing," Peter said, tears now coming down once more at the painful memories. "I learned what the consequences of not doing the right thing were that night, and ever since, I've tried my best to do that. No matter how big or small, I've tried to help where needed. This, all of this, is the result of me going down that path, M.J, and it won't end here. Even if we get out of this, I will always be running off, risking my life, because I have too much of a responsibility to make sure that what happened to my uncle doesn't happen to anyone else." 

Peter looked into M.J.'s eyes; he could tell that she was taking a moment to process everything he had told her. One thing he had learned about her was that, while she didn't let on to it externally, she processed and felt everything so deeply. As a result, he was more than willing to give her the time she needed to think through things. 

"I understand all of that," she finally said, her face appearing deeply sympathetic and understanding, "but I still choose you, Peter." 

Now it was Peter, turn to ask: "Why? You could do so much more in life if you weren't shackled to a boy with a hero complex." 

"That's where you're wrong," M.J. replied. "Before I met you, I was a shell of the person I am now. Make no mistake, I would make it without you...but that's all I'd be doing. Your belief in me, the way you support me in everything, and your acceptance of who I am as a person...those are the things that are going to push me to be my best." 

Peter started to say something, but M.J. held up a finger. 

"And before you say it, yes, I'm sure I could find all of that in someone else. The things is, Peter...I don't want to."

Peter stood there, taking the time to think through everything. Deep, deep down in his soul, he knew she was right in everything she said; the hard part was accepting it for himself. 

"Are you sure about this?" he asked her. 

M.J. took one of his hands in her own, and the way she looked at him made him feel like he could take on Thanos by himself. 

"Your'e not alone, Peter." 

He took a breath and let it out as he came to a decision that he really hoped he wouldn't regret. 

"Okay."

**Author's Note:**

> Well, what did you guys think? This is my first Post-FFH fic where I actually kept the mid-credits scene, so I really wanted to keep it within the flow of that. Please feel free to leave your thoughts; if you hated it, please elaborate, so I can have some specifics to be thinking over, and please be respectful, of course. 
> 
> My prayers for you all as we continue to face this crazy year together. 
> 
> "He is not here; He is risen..." Matthew 28:1-7


End file.
